This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Aletheiaeleutheroseihymas (talk | contribs) at 00:06, 6 September 2009 (The goal is to abide by the guidelines of the policy on Biographies of Living Persons. The burden of proof is on keeping it in not on deleting it.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 00:06, 6 September 2009 by Aletheiaeleutheroseihymas (talk | contribs) (The goal is to abide by the guidelines of the policy on Biographies of Living Persons. The burden of proof is on keeping it in not on deleting it.)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Dr. John Steven "Steve" Gaines (born December 31, 1957, in Corinth, Mississippi) is an American Southern Baptist pastor. He is currently serving at Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova (a suburb of Memphis, Tennessee), one of the largest congregations in the Southern Baptist Convention. He took over the pulpit on September 11, 2005, from longtime pastor and former SBC President Adrian Rogers.
Before arriving at Bellevue Baptist, Gaines pastored for 14 years at the First Baptist Church of Gardendale, Alabama, an 8,500-member church in suburban Birmingham. There he became one of the leading voices in the conservative wing of the SBC. In 2004, Gaines was elected president of the Southern Baptist Pastors' Conference, and was the keynote speaker at the SBC annual meeting in Nashville.
Gaines' theology is best described as conservative and evangelical.
Recognition
In April of 2009, Dr. Gaines was honored with the "Open Door Award" by the April 4th foundation. This was in recognition "His passion for evangelism (which) has galvanized his congregation to reach their city with the Gospel in unprecedented ways by meeting practical needs throughout Memphis."